Rusted Swords
by ForsakenFoundling
Summary: When Lily and James Potter were killed, Harry's twin was called the BWL and sent to live with Sirius. Harry is then left in the 'care' of the Dursleys, where he suffers for years before running away and joining a dangerous organization. AU Assassin!Harry
1. Prologue

**And here's another plot bunny that wanted to be freed :)**

**Let me know what you think.**

**As you may have figured out if you read the prologue and first chapter of Fact and Fallacy that my prologues are generally pretty short compared to the true chapters. It will be the same with this story.**

**Also as with F&F, this story was mainly impulse, and as such I will greatly welcome any suggestions as to what you would like to see in the story.**

**Disclaimer: You recognize it? Chances are I don't own it.**

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><p>"Wolf, do you comprehend your mission?"<p>

"I do, sir."

"Then you may take your leave. You have three hours to prepare."

"Yes, sir."

A lithe figure cloaked entirely in black rose from his position kneeling on the cold stone floor, showing no sign of stiffness from holding the uncomfortable stance as he slipped from the room, boots making no sound as they connected with the flooring.

The halls the figure passed through to reach his quarters were deserted, and he reached his rooms in nearly record time, slipping easily through the door and casting a locking charm back at the heavily reinforced wood over his shoulder as he walked into the small bedroom.

Only once he was in the privacy of his rooms was the cloak disguising his form removed, revealing a toned body clad in a simple pair of black jeans and black tee. Black combat boots were taken off and set to the side as the male settled on the bed. Ink black hair that fell well past his shoulder blades was tied loosely back with a piece of twine wound around a thin wire that could be used as a garrote if necessary. Were he to look in a mirror, he knew that dulled emerald eyes would stare back at him, devoid of expression.

Indeed, almost every accessory that the wizard wore could be used as some sort of weapon in a pinch, and that was only if someone managed to find all of the large assortment of daggers and other such weaponry both hidden and displayed on his figure, added to his rather impressive spell repertoire.

This Harry James Potter was a far cry from the child he had once been.

However, there was little time to ponder over how much he had changed from that scrawny, timid boy; he had already wasted precious time.

At that thought Harry- more commonly called Wolf now- promptly pulled off his shirt, revealing a well muscled but still lithe torso complete with a few tattoos and several scars.

The most prominent tattoo rested right in the center of his chest. Easily seen at first glance to be some sort of coat of arms or symbol, it was comprised of a shield pierced through with a sai (1) over a splintered wand crossed with another. A serpentine dragon coiled about the top of the shield, snarling at a tiger shown to be crouched in front of the shield behind the wands. The Latin phrase _Silius velocius ullum gladiis conciderunt, _or silent swords cut the swiftest, was emblazoned upon the shield. Only one familiar with, or with a decent amount of time to study the coat of arms would be able to notice the subtle addition of heavily thorned vines twining about the seemingly unsuspecting tiger and dragon.

It was certainly his most detailed and largest tattoo of his assortment. The others were merely the stylized head of a howling wolf displayed on a shoulder, and a coiled Celtic-influenced band around his upper arm.

Pulling on a new shirt, he wasted no time in quickly slipping many of his weapons into their holsters, as well as his two wands. His boots replaced, daggers were hidden carefully in each, out of sight but accessible if needed.

Slipping on an overshirt of reinforced dragonhide, he snagged his equally as reinforced cloak and replaced it over his form, cowl coming up to shadow his face as he pulled out his mission plans, which were spelled to portkey him close to his destination.

His timing was perfect. Only a few moments passed before the portkey activated and he was swept away.

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><p><strong>(1)- Sai- a dagger-shaped weapon with two curved prongs projecting from the handle.<strong>

**...And now I bet you're all curious as to where Harry's going :) If someone guesses his destination and/or mission they'll get kudos and a mention in the next chapter ;D**

**I realize that some people may have been bored by my description of the tattoo among other things, but deal with it, it will be important later (I also rather liked coming up with it :3). **

**Again, I'd love to hear what you think, and any suggestions as well.**

**Also, anyone know of a good site where I can look up the meaning/symbolism behind wand woods and cores? I've been striking out everyplace I look...**


	2. Chapter 1

**And here's the first chapter :)**

**I will be be calling Harry both by his birth name and his new codename interchangably, so expect to see Harry and Wolf, mostly depending on his state of mind.**

**The lack of people guessing at Harry's target/destination was rather disappointing, I must admit, with only two people bothering...**

**Thank you all for the reviews! They make me happy~**

**Xavier Wolff: Nope, it's not the Dursleys, although that is a good idea :) Hogwarts is close, and was actually what I was going to go with until I had a new idea that made a bit more sense to me.  
>Waffle: Not Narnia, although that would be interesting xD<strong>

**And a big thanks to ElementalBlade and Mingmei Reyana, who pointed out wonderful sites :D**

**Italics would be flashbacks~**

**Warnings: Vaguely described murder**

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><p>Harry landed lightly on the balls of his feet as the portkey deposited him in the shadows of a narrow alleyway. Pausing only briefly to orient himself to his surroundings, he set off, emerging from the alley to merge with the scanty crowds of seedy-looking witches and wizards. None dared attempt to stop him as he headed for where Knockturn alley bled into Diagon alley.<p>

Pausing just where the two alleys met, he settled into an alcove, tossing up several security and privacy charms as he pulled out the file once again to rifle through it, reading through the information that had already been committed to memory.

His mission involved a powerful political figure, but with the amount of wards layering the Ministry and the man's private homes, getting inside undetected would be quite problematic; completing his task and escaping would be even more difficult.

Of course, that was only an issue if he actually needed to get _into_ the places; it was simpler if he just, say, snuck into or waited outside a meeting his target was attending, to pounce when least expected.

There were high chances that his target literally wouldn't know what hit him.

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><p>An hour passed, and Harry finally slipped the file away into an inner, bottomless, pocket within his cloak, and locked the clasp so only he would be able to open it. There was no chance he was going to take the risk of the sensitive information falling into the wrong hands; even if he got away from the thieves he would be a dead man walking.<p>

Dispelling the numerous privacy charms, he slipped into Diagon alley, making his way towards the Three Broomsticks.

Luckily, he didn't attract too much attention, as there was still the occasional witch or wizard that was cloaked in a similar garb, and he slipped inside the tavern unchallenged. Not giving anyone a chance to get a good look at him, he almost immediately headed towards the stairs.

His target was bound to be paranoid enough to have someone erect wards the moment he was in the room. It would do little good though, if someone was laying in wait.

Slinking up the stairs he drew back on his emotions, falling into the cold persona of Wolf that he had adopted to survive within the Organization. Already dulled eyes lost whatever spark had remained, and his breathing evened out as he felt whatever anxiety he might have felt about the mission drain away, leaving only a frigid sense of purpose.

All of the meeting rooms but one would be considered unsuitable for his target to reside in, so he quickly stepped inside the most lavish and largest meeting room the Three Broomsticks had. He made a sweep of the room and quickly cast a multitude of charms and spells to prevent his detection by spells, wards, and wizards and witches. That done, he settled into a corner nearest to where he suspected his target would sit, right at the head of the table, and resigned himself to a pretty long wait.

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><p><em>"That's right freak! You'd better run."<em>

_The voice shouted out behind him, and Harry put on a burst of speed. If he could just get out of sight long enough to hide..._

_But no, a foot shot out from behind a tree, catching his ankle and sending him crashing painfully to the ground, the instinctive magic summoned only keeping his skin from being torn open and doing nothing for banged elbows and knees._

_The skinny boy refused to make a sound though, refused to give Dudley and his minions the satisfaction that they were getting to him as he was surrounded. Pushing himself backwards, the group of older boys stalked after him even as he ran up against the unyielding trunk of a tree, the rough bark pressing uncomfortably into the bruises on his back._

_He couldn't help his eyes widening slightly though, as his obese cousin advanced with a nasty grin, crouching down even as his expression contorted with hatred. "Freak." The word was growled, before a meaty fist slammed into Harry's stomach, causing him to double over._

_And then it began, Dudley's goons joining in even as Harry curled up as tightly as he could, eyes firmly closed as he chanted nonsense to himself. Anything to try and block out the pain._

_By the time Dudley had grown bored and waddled off with his minions Harry had slipped a bit, and his face was tearstained as he uncurled. His entire body protested even as a wave of relief swept over him as he could no longer see his tormentors, and a whimper escaped._

_How long he just sat there, he didn't know, shaking against the pain and waiting for his strength to return. By the time he judged he could stand and move about without being blinded by pain from his aching body the sun was beginning to sink in the sky._

_He didn't go very far at first, only retreating deeper into the woods to find a more secluded place to get some further rest. He ended up curled in a little hollow underneath a tree, telling himself that he would only stay for a little bit before heading back to the Dursley's house. He had never been able to call it a home._

_He was sound asleep before five minutes passed._

_The sun was high in the sky the next time he woke, and almost instantly panic overtook his mind, his first thoughts being that Uncle Vernon was going to be _so _mad._

_As time passed though, his panic began to fade as other thoughts filtered into his mind. Did he even need to go back? It wasn't like he had the best life anyways. He had snuck glances into the room before while the Dursleys watched TV and had seen a report on a runaway child. He hadn't been found, if Harry remembered correctly, but then again he wouldn't want to be either._

_The more he considered things as best his young mind could, the more simply not going back to the Dursleys appealed to him. It wasn't like they'd actually miss him, as they'd told him time and time again he was just an unwelcome burden._

_He shifted slightly, and his body protested, making up his mind for him. He wasn't going back._

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><p><em>Several days later he had found himself in the midst of a large city, hungry and just scraping by on the streets. He was used to the hunger though, and the discomfort barely affected him. He was fast too, which helped him to escape the Dudley-esque gangs roaming the streets. His first day in the city he had run into one of them, but a lucky blast of accidental magic ended up knocking out several of the boys, and he had escaped.<em>

_Now though, he was crouching behind a dumpster while a richly dressed and very angry wizard searched for him. Why he hadn't just used a locating charm had escaped Harry, until he realized that the briefcase he had stolen contained the man's wand. All that meant though, was he really was dead if he was found._

_He shrank back as footsteps drew closer and stopped, praying that the pause wasn't because of suspicion. Even as the thought crossed his mind an odd, almost whirring sound cut through the air, followed by a wet noise, and thump. _

_Inching forward, he peered around the dumpster to see the wizard slumped on the ground, motionless and appearing strangely disjointed. There didn't seem to be anybody else around, and so he slunk out to investigate._

_The wizard was obviously dead, but, rather than what Harry would have expected, the death of someone who would have hurt him didn't bother him very much._

_Head tilting slightly before he dismissed the body, Harry rose, intending to rifle through the briefcase once he was a safe distance away._

_Or at least he was planning to, when something cold and sharp pricked at his neck, and something pressed against his spine._

_Having let out an unintentional yelp of surprise, he felt a prick on his neck followed by the almost tickling trickle of blood. He remained silent though, frozen in his captor's grip as he mentally flailed about for his magic, finally getting a hold on it._

_"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Someone decided to eavesdrop," a smooth voice purred in his ear, and he released his pent up power, pushing his assailant away from him._

_He bolted as the person made a noise of surprise, pouring all his energy into his legs as he sprang over the body of the wizard..._

_Only for an arm to wrap around his form, dragging him backwards with a strangled yelp and pinning him to his captor. The arm felt like a steel band, and no amount of struggling loosened his grip._

_"Shhh," she same voice as before whispered in his ear, and the arm tightened until, with a whimper, he went still._

_Several seconds that felt like years passed before a chuckle reverberated through the figure "Hm, you are an interesting one. Strong magical core, unfazed by a brutal murder, and living on the streets as a pickpocket." The voice sounded amused, and Harry tensed against the arm holding him, but the man didn't seem to notice._

_"You've got promise boy, so I'll give you a choice. Come with me, or I'll kill you right here and now." His tone darkened, almost daring him to try to escape again, and Harry swallowed hard, almost unable to even think through all of the panicked thoughts racing through his head. He barely noticed his mouth moving, forming the words to seal his fate "I-I'll come."_

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><p>Blinking, Wolf shook himself free of the clinging tendrils of memory, scowling slightly before his expression faded back into his neutral mask. Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, he quickly strengthened his shields before the door swung open to admit a group of witches and wizards, his target among them. He recognized most of the others, though only one could prove a true hindrance to his mission.<p>

He instinctively stilled further as said elderly-looking wizard peered around the room before taking a seat. In line with his estimations, Fudge took the seat at the head of the table, only a few feet from where Wolf was laying in wait. He wouldn't strike now, not when the aurors and other witches and wizards were still alert. Let them stew in a sense of security, no matter how false, for a bit longer.

He didn't so much as twitch as the meeting began, only listening absently to the prattle as he kept an eye on the aurors spaced about the room. He would need to time this perfectly to enact a smooth kill and escape.

It took well over an hour of patient waiting before he saw the first signs that the aurors were beginning to relax, apparently having decided that the likelihood of being attacked was lowered. The monotony was slowly but surely battering at their awareness. Now, he could act.

Instinctively double checking to be sure the obscuring charm was still centered over his face, he pulled out one of his more heavily enchanted daggers, this one steeped in highly concentrated basilisk venom and bespelled to shatter shields and other protective enchantments.

He lunged, most of the spells disguising his presence dropping as his dagger slashed through the air at Fudge, slicing through a hastily erected shield with a spurt of magical sparks even as his wand whipped up to deflect several curses thrown at him. The basic shield soon shattered under a powerful spell thrown by Dumbledore, the backlash jarring his arm and pushing the dagger away from his target's neck. At the side of the room, Wolf noticed several of the less seasoned aurors relaxing slightly as the immediate danger seemed to have passed.

Unfortunately for them, his dagger had already nicked Fudge's neck, and as the man began to choke, drawing attention to himself, Wolf moved again, dagger slicing cleanly through his throat. The Minister died with a choked gurgle, robes quickly turning red.

Springing back with a muttered "_Angustos,_" he didn't pause to watch the shield bloom into life about his body, knocking away the multitudes of spells currently being shot at him.

Maintaining the advanced magic, he leapt forward into a roll, shooting off a rapid series of stunners at his opponent's right through the shield. Obviously startled, several of the aurors fell under his attack, though he was faintly irked to see Dumbledore smoothly sidestep out of the path of the spell.

He followed up his stunners with another variety of spells, making use of every dirty and cunning trick he knew to take out even the more experienced wizards.

The old coot was soon the only one standing under his assault, blocking his curses with seeming ease and responding with hexes of his own that tested Wolf's carefully structured defenses and skills. On top of that, the wizard had even had the gall to toss a few spells his way designed to dispel the charm obscuring his face. The elderly wizard had also kept himself firmly between the assassin and the doorway, and Wolf wasn't about to test the powerful enchantments on the windows.

Growling softly to himself, Wolf fell back slightly, before abruptly directing his wand at the floor and snapping out a blasting curse directly at the floorboards. With a resounding crash and small explosion of splinters and dust the curse tore through the wood, leaving a gaping hole that Wolf swiftly dove into, ducking underneath several spells sent his way.

He fell down to land lightly on the floor of the pub below, and the screams that had begun with his curse blowing through the floor multiplied as patrons tried frantically to get out of the blood-covered assassin's way as he sprinted towards the door.

Several spells aimed at his back signaled Dumbledore's arrival on the first floor, but a few well-placed jinxes tossed to the side solved that as a stampede of people rushed between him and Dumbledore, effectively blocking his attacks lest he hit an innocent.

Bolting out into the warm sunlight, he wasted no time finding the edge of the anti-apparation ward that had been erected and, stepping past it, turned just long enough to see Dumbledore run from the pub. A pop and swirl of vanishing robes was all that met him.

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><p>Spells:<p>

Angustos- Block

Any and all reviews are still greatly appreciated; I read each one and they really help in convincing me that people actually read this :)


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